The Trustee Senate will look at the challenges scheme Trustees face and ask how they can best address some of these challenges. It will also explore what the future is likely to hold for Trustees and assess the common themes emerging.

This webinar will look at the issue of mental health wellbeing in the workplace – asking the steps employers can take to improve the mental health of their employees; and looking at how things such as early intervention strategies can help.

The US equity investment environment has gradually shifted from active management to passive investing in both institutional and retail channels in recent years.

The US Large Cap Core Strategy provides exposure to quality US companies with sustainable competitive advantages and the ability to generate significant cash flow. We look for the best companies, at the right valuation, and hold for the long-term.

This new paper examines the increased focus on Responsible Investment in all its various forms, and reflects the growing awareness from investors globally that non-financial risks may have a meaningful impact on long-term financial performance.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to Responsible Investment, including the main approaches and the investor landscape.

Dutch Philips sells in-house pension capabilities

NETHERLANDS - Royal Philips Electronics is selling its pension administration and investment management capabilities, both part of Philips Pensions Competence Centre (PPCC), for an undisclosed amount.

PPCC, based in Eindhoven, provides pensions management and administration services for 165,000 scheme members, including 137,000 members of the Philips Pension Fund (PPF), through its subsidiary Philips Pension Management (PPM).

Hewitt Associates will acquire the pension administration services and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers will take over the investment management activities.

The deal with MLIM includes a seven year contract to manage US$16bn (e13.5bn) on behalf of PPF.

Philips spokesperson Andre Manning said pension administration was no longer a core activity for Philips.

“Ten or 15 years ago we had around 260,000 employees, of which 40 or 50,000 were located in the Netherlands,” he said.

“Nowadays we have 160,000 employees, of which 26,000 are located in the Netherlands. With the future trend of a decreasing number of employees in the Netherlands instead of increasing, we think that it’s not absolutely necessary to manage the pensions by Philips itself.”

All 88 Philips staff members will be transferred to Hewitt as part of the deal.

Commenting on MLIM’s acquisition, Robert McCann, executive vice president and vice chairman of the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Group, said: “The Netherlands is the second biggest pension market in Europe after the UK. This acquisition will make MLIM the largest non-domestic active manager in the country and will also give potential Dutch clients a true alternative to local managers.”

Jan Hommen, CFO and vice chairman of Royal Philips Electronics, commented: “The transaction should enable Philips and PPF to benefit from world-class expertise, and allow us to capitalise on our earlier investments in the business. The transaction will also open new and interesting career opportunities for PPCC’s staff.”

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is consulting on changes to the actuarial assumptions it uses in valuations in a bid to better reflect the bulk annuity market, with schemes set to move into surplus on aggregate.